Ang Kalatas Volume IV May 2014 Issue | Page 11

THE MESSAGE. BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA www.kalatas.com.au | Volume 4 Number 8 | May 2014 EDITORIAL & OPINION 11 THER’S DAY? I would pamper my mum with the LR Range of beauty products and make up items that she prefers to use personally. I would surprise her by promoting her business’ facial massage and health/spa amenities. I’d love to buy her a jewellery to her liking or maybe nice clothes that suits her tall and slim figure. I’m gonna treat my mum to travel abroad, preferably a visit to see me here in Sydney from the Philippines and just spend that good quality time with me. It’s my dream to take her to Paris for signature brand shopping like Channel, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Pierre Cardin or YSL just to completely pamper her with my lifetime savings … I’ll start my mother’s day treat with “Tapsilog or Longsilog”, her special Pinoy breakfast favourites at Top Top Café. Secretly, I’ll gather her best friends there to indulge on their favourite “Sans Rival” or Ube Halaya cakes as they sip that baristamade coffees while exchanging smiles and good time stories. I’ll hug her and get her to choose her gift! Dennis Rudman Cathrine Patron Myra Cillo Campbelltown Hassall Grove Wenworthville HUMMING IN MY UNIVERSE PROCEED WITH CAUTION Let’s talk about pain Free speech re-education I Illustration by REY RIVERA P ain is part of the human condition, something we have to go through from time to time. Some go through a lot more of it than others. It could be easy or hard, but pain is there. It is an inevitable part of life. Still, we wish to avoid it as much as we can. Civilization is all about making things easier and avoiding pain. It is the purpose of all development to overcome inconvenience, discomfort, hardship and pain. We want life to be as pain-free as possible. And yet, pain still happens, and sometimes we see so much of it that we are shaken to the core. When we watch the news, war, violence, tragedy, racism, discrimination, hunger, alienation, social inequity and emotional trauma shove pain into our faces. It is hard to fathom how people who actually experience these firsthand can cope. Those of us who are far from such events may feel the pain less, but we can’t really escape it. Pain comes with being alive in the world. When you think about it, all our attempts at maturity, religion, wealth creation, economic, social, medical progress, governmental efforts, etc. are created and evolving to control pain somehow and make a “better world” for everyone. But do you see that, ironically, the ways to avoid pain still require that we undergo some pain? Of course. But the difference is, the pain we must go through to improve the world is necessary pain, not the mindless type that only creates havoc and tragedy. Here are some examples. To be educated is to feel far less pain than to remain ignorant, at least in theory. To be healthy is far less painful than being sick. To be mature helps us deal with pain without losing our composure. But in order to be educated, healthy and mature, we need to undergo the pain of discipline, delayed gratification, emotional control, overcoming laziness and keeping ourselves challenged and motivated. Doing all this can be painful, but it is better to tolerate the “good” pain than allow unnecessary pain to keep happening. We relate to pain in many ways. Some of us can take it for what it is, while others may offer it to God as a form of sacrifice, and still others see it as way to shape their character. We may turn to religion and meditation to help us understand pain and suffering. But for those who are otherwise inclined, there are painkillers to help them cope better. S p i r i t u a l teachers and some religions tell us that one way of freeing ourselves from pain is to embrace it. When we do, we remove the power of fear that threatens to overwhelm us and we end up melting the pain. That’s what it means when they say, “What you resist, persists.” We must go with the flow. This actually works for me. Another thing that helps me is objectifying pain. Though I feel physical, emotional or spiritual pain, I try not to identify with it, or allow it to define who I am. Instead of saying, “I am sad,” it helps when I say, “I feel sad.” There is a big difference there. The first refers to an identity, the second is a feeling. And we all know that feelings come and go. Physical pain is a bit more difficult to handle. But I can still ease my suffering by reframing the experience and telling myself that it is “my body” that is  HUMMING, Page 12 JIM PAREDES is a multifaceted creative. He sings, composes, writes articles and books, teaches at the Ateneo De Manila University, designs and facilitates various types of workshops. He is also a writer of books, a widely read columnist for the Sunday Life section of Philippine Star, and a well-known photographer. This article was also published by the Philippine Star. have yet to hear any Filipino-Australian individual or group formally supporting the proposal by the Attorney-General George Brandis to repeal or amend Section 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA) because any support is automatically branded as racist like when Andrew Bolt was accused of being racist for using the term white Aborigines. So already in unison and like dominos, we saw the leaders of APCO, Migrante NSW, and Global Filipinos Australia were already at arms against any amendment to the RDA, perhaps without fully understanding free speech. I may be the only one in the community calling for broader free speech, yet for doing so; I am at the risk of being labelled as a self-hating Filipino. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly am against bigotry and racism and I support the Filipino community or any other ethnic communities’ efforts to be protected from any racial vilification and intimidation; but I am also against any or all of these groups getting immunity from criticisms. As a columnist like Andrew Bolt, I want all views in the open and in public view including racist ones. How else, you may ask, as part of the Australian society, can we determine and formulate healthy and socially correct policies if we don’t engage and accommodate opposing views? In my April 2014